Project Children
More than 23,000 children.
Fifty years.
One extraordinary story of hope.
Project Children - The Legacy by Jane Buckley
A simple idea that changed the lives of 23,000 children and the course of Irish history.
Six Weeks That Changed Thousands and Thousands of Lives
The story began in 1975. It sounds simple: take six Catholic and Protestant children from Northern Ireland, fly them to Greenwood Lake, New York, and give them a peaceful summer with American host families, far from the Troubles.
Over the next 40 years, more than 23,000 children stayed with 16,000 families across 22 states. They discovered new friendships, enormous American food portions and a world beyond the streets they knew.
For many, it was their first journey abroad. For others, it became a lifelong connection.
Children as young as nine returned home with memories they would never forget. What began with sixyoungsters became a quiet but powerful thread in the wider story of peace.
Pat and Kathleen Mulcahy at a U.S. Army Dance, 1968
Pat, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army National Guard
The Founders: Pat and Denis Mulcahy
Pat and Denis built the programme from a simple idea into a transatlantic movement.
That idea began in 1974, during a conversation between Pat and his wife, Kathleen, as they drove home to Greenwood Lake.
“What if we were to bring some children over from the North and give them six weeks away from the Troubles?”
Denis and his wife, Miriam, immediately understood what those weeks could offer: not only safety and freedom, but an opportunity for Catholic and Protestant children to get to know one another without the divisions surrounding them at home.
“Take the children out. Let them meet. Let them see each other as children first.”
The following summer, six children, three Catholic and three Protestant, travelled to Greenwood Lake, New York.
From that small beginning, the brothers, their families, friends and neighbours created a programme that crossed religious divides, built lifelong friendships and changed thousands of lives on both sides of the Atlantic.
Why I Wrote the Book
Years later, while writing my Stones Corner series, I became increasingly interested in the ordinary people whose lives were changed by the Troubles, including the stories that rarely reached the history books.
The connection between Project Children and the Troubles is at the heart of what drew me in — this was a response to the conflict written not in policy, but in kindness.
When I began speaking to the Project Children family, I quickly realised how vast and deeply human this story was. I wanted to record it through the voices of those who lived it: the children, parents, coordinators, volunteers and the Project Children host families who opened their homes and hearts.
Jane Buckley
Miriam and Denis Mulcahy, 1968
What the Book Means
This is not a history told through politicians or official reports. It is told by the people who were there.
At around 600 pages, with approximately 186,000 words and more than 150 photographs, The Project Children Story preserves fifty years of memories, friendships, laughter, heartbreak and extraordinary generosity.
The Project Children book is a permanent record of what the programme achieved and a thank-you to everyone who helped make it possible.
“So far, I have read the first four chapters and I love it. Your introduction of the two boys really sets the stage. Your style is easy to read and brings real heart to the story.”
A member of the Mulcahy family
Quotes from the Book
‘There’s a black car following us, John. Have you noticed?’ I said on the way.
“I know, Pat. There’s a hit out on me,” he tells me, almost casually.
‘Couldn’t you have sent somebody else to pick me up!”
Pat Mulcahy
‘I think that’s what Project Children did best. It gave us a glimpse of how life could be and made us want to build it for ourselves wherever we went.’
Catherine (Kitty) Brown, child 1984, Dick and Kathy Schwankes, Syracuse
Meet The Author Jane Buckley
As an author, Jane Buckley brings the human stories behind the Troubles to life, giving a voice to the ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times.
“In my career as a substantive editor, I have worked across almost every genre, but I am always drawn to authenticity.
Project Children is an extraordinary and compassionate account, told through the voices of those who lived it and brought together with great insight by Derry author Jane Buckley.
Her understanding of growing up during the Troubles gives the book real heart. I loved watching its collective voice develop and have no doubt this powerful story will touch everyone who reads it. No coffee table should be without it.”
Eamon Ó Cléirigh, Editor
Join Project Children and Monaghan County Council for the Launch of Project Children: The Legacy
“Told By Those Who Lived It”
Hosted by Monaghan County Council and Project Children
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Location: Monaghan Peace Campus, Monaghan, Ireland
Registration is required and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis due to limited capacity.
Registration includes the purchase of a signed copy of the book.
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